thanks guys for all your positive remarks!!!! i went last night and started designing the rest with my artist.

as for the question about my elders, at first they all hated the idea (really because they only imagined "gangster" style tattoos) but once they actually saw the artistic side of it and realized it was a postive piece, they really liked it. I think i finally got them to realize that tattoos are part of americans youth culture and are not looked at as being rebellious as they were when they were young.

As for not being buried in a jewish cemetary, i did look into this and if a rabbi does not allow you to be buried at his cemetary then he himself is going against the jewish religion by not honoring and respecting the deceased. You will be hard pressed to find a jewish cemetary that will not allow a tattoo'd individual to be buried there. From what i understand as well, due to all the prisoners being tattoo'd in concentration camps, that rule basically doesn't exist any more.

Tattooing is an explicit prohibition from the Torah. However, those who violate this prohibition may be buried in a Jewish cemetery and participate fully in all synagogue ritual. While no sanctions are imposed, the practice should continue to be discouraged as a violation of the Torah. At all times a Jew should remember that we are created b'tzelem Elokim. We are called upon to incorporate this understanding into all our decisions.

The Torah explicitly forbids a Jew from getting a tattoo: The verse says "Don't put hypodermic writing in your flesh, I am G-d." (Leviticus 19:28)So, we see that getting a "decorative" tattoo is considered a sin for a Jew. But it doesn't disqualify him from being buried in a Jewish cemetery.

While Jewish Law forbids permanent tattoos, and that's clear in the Torah -- having one does not disqualify a Jew from being buried among his/her people. You should be aware however, that various burial societies may have their own qualifications as to whom they would allow to be buried in their burial plots. But this would be their own rules, and not one of general Jewish law.